diff --git a/http-kit.cabal b/http-kit.cabal
--- a/http-kit.cabal
+++ b/http-kit.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name:             http-kit
-version:          0.5.0
+version:          0.5.1
 synopsis:         A low-level HTTP library
 description:      A low-level HTTP library that can be used to build more
                   sophisticated applications on top of it.
diff --git a/src/Network/HTTP/Toolkit/Response.hs b/src/Network/HTTP/Toolkit/Response.hs
--- a/src/Network/HTTP/Toolkit/Response.hs
+++ b/src/Network/HTTP/Toolkit/Response.hs
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
 -- | Parse status-line (see <http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2616#section-6.1 RFC 2616, Section 6.1>).
 parseStatusLine :: ByteString -> Maybe Status
 parseStatusLine input = case B.words input of
-  _ : status : message : _ -> mkStatus <$> (readMaybe $ B.unpack status) <*> Just message
+  _ : status : xs -> mkStatus <$> (readMaybe $ B.unpack status) <*> (listToMaybe xs <|> Just "")
   _ -> Nothing
 
 -- | Determine the message `BodyType` from a given `Method`, `Status`, and list